OUTLAWS
by Keri Maxwell
Summary: It's the Wild West with a twist! Demons, witches, theives and madmen this is gonna be one helluva ride. It all begins when Kagome releases a stranger from prison to save her life, thus opening a Pandora's box of lawlessness.
1. Jailhouse Rock

Righty-o then....this doth be OUTLAWS.....yes....capitalized just like that. n.n keh. Always knew I liked notepad better. >.> glare.....word = = the devil 

Disclaimer - *sigh* I can't think of anything cute or witty to use as a disclaimer. meh. I don't own Inu-yasha, but the plot is mine! ... mostly... 

A word of warning.....this thing is gonna be HUGE. okies? HUGE. 

* 

* 

~~OUTLAWS~~ 

_The stars in the night sky were bright that night. As was the raging fire in the small town of Jidai. The flames licked at the dark skies, covering the town. The winds blew the stinging sand in the dusty streets about, making it difficult to see clearly. The cries from the people echoed across the barren plains. _

"Inu-yasha's escaped!" 

"He's free! He's free" 

"The last demon has escaped!" 

The one they spoke of leapt from the low rooftops to taunt them. His long white hair blew about in the strong wind and his golden eyes shone fiercely, reflecting the raging fires. In his hand he clutched a crumpled sheet of parchment. 

"This is what you all deserve! You all betrayed me! I'll find the treasure! You'll never see it!" 

A sound. Click. 

"Inu-yasha!" 

From nowhere, a shot rang out, piercing him in the left shoulder. His arm twisted back from the impact, forcing the paper out of his hand. The shot was quickly followed by another, and another. Inu-yasha stumbled, then fell to his knees. His blood slowly dripped to the sandy ground, the life seeping out of him. He growled and looked up to search for the shooter. 

"Kikyo!" 

And there she was. Town protector. Everyone's friend. She stood with a rifle, aimed at Inu-yasha. She may have been beautiful once, but now her face was flecked with blood and she wore an angry scowl. Her own injuries were no small matter, and she would without a doubt not survive the night. 

She yelled at him, but Inu-yasha heard no words. He was vaguely aware of another bullet tearing through him and knocking him backwards. Then, he lay still, a red puddle growing beneath him. 

Kikyo, seeing Inu-yasha fall, fell herself, as her wounds finally made her succumb to the pain. Some of the townsfolk ran to help her, while others stood back to give her air. Her rifle dropped to the dusty ground, forgotten. She winced when she turned the wrong way, but turned never the less, to face the nearest person. 

"Tell her...tell Kagome...she's the only one...that...." She paused to clutch at her bleeding arm, "that she's the only one....." Wince. "...who can help" And with that, she died. 

* 

"Inu-yasha!" 

_"Die Inu-yasha!"_

"Inu-yasha! Wake up! Inu-yasha!" 

Moaning, Inu-yasha rolled over on his tiny cot and pulled his pillow over his head. The sheriff pounded against the metal bars again. "I said, wake up!" 

"And I said piss off." Inu-yasha lazily threw a fork at the voice. It clanged noisily against the bars before hitting the ground. 

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me a new one." The sheriff mumbled what were most likely curse words to himself. "You're gonna need that fork, there. Breakfast time." He kicked the fork back to Inu-yasha and slipped him his meal through a slot in the door. 

"Screw off. I'd rather starve." But he sat up and took the plate anyways. 

"That's a good prisoner." The sheriff laughed to himself and walked away, twirling his keys. Inu-yasha gave him the finger. 

"Keh. Smart-ass." 

Inu-yasha sat back on his cot and regarded the cell around him. The walls were stone, and the floor was bare earth, though in this area, it was a dusty type of earth. He had often contemplated digging out, but there was the problem of hiding his progress from the sheriff when he was the only prisoner that was watched. There was the front of the cell with the metal bars and steel door, facing the sheriff's office. In the back there was a small window, also with the metal bars, that looked out onto the main street of the town. A few people were out today, but no one was doing anything interesting, so they remained unnoticed. There were, of course, the essentials, but Inu-yasha preferred trying to use any of the sheriff's personal items as a toilet instead. Then the cot he was sitting on, a miserable little bed, raised about a foot off the floor with a sorry squashed excuse for a pillow. 

By any logical sense, Inu-yasha should have been able to escape. He could easily tear down the stone and the metal bars were an easy task to get rid of. The reason he couldn't escape was Kikyo. The damn girl had strange powers, and she had used them on this cell. Call it magic, witchcraft, whatever. There was a seal on this place, and Inu-yasha could not leave. Well, at least not until he had a key. 

Meaning that he could not walk out and get some good food. Meaning that this 'food' was all he was going to get. Meaning that today, Inu-yasha was going hungry. 

In the distance, he heard the whistle of a train, the first one to come by in a few months. Curiosity aroused, Inu-yasha peeked out of his window to take a look, careful not to stick his head out too far. That happened once and his head got stuck for a few hours until he finally managed to yank it out. That itself was bad enough, but some kid thought it would be amusing to smack him in the face with a stick. Suffice to say the kid did not leave unscathed. 

The station was across the so-called street, in all its dingy glory. What little paint it had was peeling, the bright gold and greens faded in the sun, and worn down from the sandy dirt beating on it. The weathered boards that made up the station platform were in constant danger of breaking, though it had yet to happen. The steps to the 'street' were a different story. The middle one had snapped clean down the center, and the other two bowed inward precariously. 

Next to the station was Kaede's hotel, if you could call it that. Many years ago it had some cutesy name that had long since worn off and been forgotten. It was rather run down and had had no visitors for nearly a year. Doors often got stuck, the windows were always dusty, paint was peeling, the stairs were broken, and the walls had cracked in places. Kaede herself was a cheery old woman that never seemed to be tired, and Kikyo's aunt. She had seen many strange people in her business, which hardened her against odd things and rude people, though she stayed kind to her guests. 

In fact, nearly everything in town was like that. Run-down and empty. Ever since Kikyo died. Kikyo had a way of bringing enough money into the town, but since she was gone, things had become difficult. Nothing would grow, wells frequently ran dry, and there was no economy. It was a dying town that should have been dead years ago. 

So it's easy to understand why it was such a surprise that people were arriving. The train finally screeched to a halt next to station platform. A few minutes passed before the doors opened, the dirty air hitting the passengers in the face. Despite this, they exited, although most were only getting off to stretch their legs until they were ushered back on board to head toward their intended destination. There was the customary group of grungy travelers, the kind that immediately headed for the saloon, which held true to their type and immediately headed for the saloon, conveniently next door to the jail. An occasional family wandered about, never too far from the station, attempting to keep their many children close. 

They always proved entertaining. A wandering child that had escaped his parents 'watchful' eyes would pass by, curious about a small window with metal bars. And what better thing to do that to look inside? So the child would scramble about, searching for a box to stand on, and once found, stood on it and peered inside. Which of course, was promptly followed by Inu-yasha scaring the living daylights out of him. 

But Inu-yasha didn't feel like scaring any defenseless children today. He looked at the travelers again, when he found something that sparked his interest. A girl with long-ish black hair stood by the doorway, watching a steward remove what Inu-yasha supposed was her bags. Did she intend to stay? Taking a closer look, he noticed that she was strikingly similar to Kikyo. A relative, perhaps. She did look a lot like Kikyo, but she seemed more.....happy then Kikyo had ever been. She wore a white dress with little blue flowers on it that only reached her mid-calf. Scandalous. Maybe she was one of those women suffragette-type people. At least she would give the town something else to talk about other than himself. 

He continued to watch as she made her way to Kaede's hotel confirming she did intend to stay, at least for a little while. She struggled with her many bags, continually having to pick one up after she dropped it, or having one get a corner stuck in the ground, but eventually she reached the hotel. She managed to swing the door open and stumble inside, but not before hitting her head on the doorframe. 

Inu-yasha snorted. She certainly was a clumsy girl. 

Through the dusty cracked window, Inu-yasha saw her talking to Kaede, then giving her a hug. Apparently she was a relative. Inu-yasha mentally gave himself a pat on the back for his good guess-work. He turned his ears in an effort to hear what they were talking about, but only heard bits and pieces through all the other sounds of the town, as few as they were. 

~*^*~ 

Meanwhile, inside the hotel, Kaede was chatting to her niece while stirring a large pot of stew, on a stove that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. 

"So you finally received word? It's been nearly four months. What took so long?" She inquired, sipping a bit of the stew from her wooden spoon. 

"Yes, I just got the letter a week ago. I don't know why it took so long to get to me, but I came as soon as I could. I hope it isn't a problem." Kagome had left most of her luggage in the hallway, but still clutched her purse, safeguarding the little money left in it. "How are things here? I mean, ever since, Kikyo....died." Kagome knew Kaede had been especially close to Kikyo, and her death grieved her more than she let on. 

Kaede sighed. "I'm afraid to say things aren't going well. The town's run out of money, and nothing will grow. But that's about to change. You're here now." Kaede smiled warmly at Kagome. However, Kagome only look confused. 

"How will I help? I can't make things grow, just like that. And I certainly don't have nearly enough money to help things." Kagome sat down in the most study looking chair in the room, and looked at Kaede as though trying to make the world of logic shift so what she said made sense. 

"You see, my dear--" But before the older woman could finish, gunshots rang out in the street. Startled into action, Kagome jumped from her chair, and Kaede dashed as quickly as she could into the front room. 

"Kaede? What's happening?" Kagome stumbled due to her shoes, but followed Kaede to where she peered out of the filthy window. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat. Five men, drunk, stumbling from the saloon, headed straight in her direction. 

Kaede's eyes visibly widened at this. "They know..." At this she turned from the window, making her way back to the kitchen, through the storeroom, and back to a secret closet, Kagome following her every step. Kaede stopped at a small safe, ignoring Kagome's questions of "What do they know?" and "Tell me what's happening!" mind bent on opening the safe. Successful, she shuffled through the bills and found what she was looking for, a piece of paper a foot square that to many appeared blank save for a decorative border. However, in Kagome's eyes, she could clearly see a map, written in shining blue ink, and a set of instructions, directing to an 'X' placed in the middle of the paper. 

Kagome stared at the paper in wonderment, and was drawn out of it only when loud pounding could be heard on the fragile door of the hotel. Kaede shoved the paper into Kagome's empty hands, which had long since deposited the purse on the kitchen floor. 

"Take this, child, and head out the back. Go to the jailhouse, they will not think to look there." And with this, Kaede shoved the girl out a back door in the kitchen and hurried to greet her 'customers'. 

Scared and confused, Kagome did as she was told. She hiked her skirt up so it came only to her knees, and made a mad dash to the jailhouse, hoping that the five men would not be looking in her direction. She was lucky, they were too busy firing shots into the sky. 

~*^*~ 

Kagome entered the jailhouse breathless, her heart pounding. The building appeared to be devoid of life, but some shuffling from the back told her otherwise. Her already frazzled nerves caused her to jump when a voice spoke. 

"Back already? So you actually do anything this time, or did you only pretend to work? Asshole." Kagome was appalled at the voice's owner's language, but relieved that he clearly wasn't talking to her. Probably against her better judgment, Kagome headed to the back of the building to straighten things out with the coarse stranger. 

When she saw him, she was startled to fight that he appeared no older than a boy. (She chided herself a bit, saying she was no older than a girl herself) Kagome had imaged a scruffy man, dirty and drunk, but the person before was a far cry from that. He looked no older than 18, and his stunning silver hair brushed against the floor from where he sat against the wall. He wasn't drunk, and he wasn't dirty, but he wasn't clean either. The silence must have lasted too long, because he finally turned his head toward her, revealing golden amber eyes. 

"You're not that bastard sheriff...." He blinked in surprise and Kagome barley managed to shake her head 'no'. Outside, shots continued to ring out, but when they finally ceased, the two in the jailhouse had said no more to each other. Content that the ceasefire lasted more than the time to reload, two ears atop Inu-yasha's head peeked out from his hair, made their presence known, and effectively broke the silence between the two. 

"You....you've got dog-ears." Kagome took a step forward. Inu-yasha however, realized the strong resemblance this girl bore to Kikyo, and so when he finally replied, it had nothing to do with what she said. 

"Are you Kikyo?" Even though he knew it wasn't true, Inu-yasha's mind began to create reasons that Kikyo may have lived, and just returned, reasons that she would come back, and reasons that made her no longer hate him. 

"My name's Kagome. Not Kikyo. She's my cousin. I don't understand why so many people think I look like her! Honestly, she is-was a good three years older than me, her hair's straighter, longer too--" Kagome would have continued but cut herself off when she realized she was rambling and shouldn't be talking about her dead cousin in that way. It also helped that at that moment, the five men from earlier barged in, having heard her raised voice. 

* 

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bwahaha evil evil cliffhanger...but it had to happen. I'm far over my average chapter length already, and I couldn't push myself to go on. so....review and let me know what you think. n.n you can give me suggestions for things you want to see and I'll try to fit it in, but ive already got a basic plot going, and if it doesn't work, tough luck. ::shrug:: n.n;;; so...yeah. 

c|_| Keri Maxwell 


	2. Riders on the Storm

yay to the persons who reviewed! i like you.....so..not understanding lack of reviews...but thats ok. ill keep writing. heh heh....did you know that when you type Naraku in word it wants to make it maraca? Highly amusing…. naraku the maraca! ::snrk:: 

disclaimer! - i would own inu-yasha....but i am not rumiko takahashi, now am i? 

~*^*~ 

OUTLAWS – 2 

The sound of the roughly opened door banging against the wall startled both Kagome and Inu-yasha into movement. Kagome whirled about and pressed her back against the cell bars, and Inu-yasha sprung up from his place on the floor to get closer to the action. 

"Well what do we have here?" The man in front sneered. The two behind him, one with a faded blue bandana around his neck, the other a red one, kept their pistols trained on Inu-yasha and Kagome, despite the fact that Kagome had no weapons and Inu-yasha was behind bars and armed with a fork. The other two, each with a rifle, had their backs turned to face outside, making sure to keep unwanted interruptions from interrupting. "Did the half-breed finally make some new friends?" The leader gave Inu-yasha a mocking sympathetic look, which earned him a growl. 

"Bastards. What do you want?" Inu-yasha gripped the two bars on either side of him with a force strong enough to crush them if there hadn't been a magic seal. 

"This doesn't concern you. Only your pretty visitor." The leader nodded his head in Kagome's direction. He gave her a sickly smile, and then slowly began to advance. When he reached the sheriff's desk he planted his hands on the paper littered surface and leaned across to peer at Kagome. "You have it don't you. Right there in your hand." He smiled once more before his face turned menacing. "Give it to me. Give me the map." 

This statement sent alarms and red lights flashing though Inu-yasha's mind. "You have it?" Kagome spun to look at Inu-yasha. His eyes darted to her hand, where low and behold, a piece of crumpled paper was clutched between her fingers. "You do have it! It's mine! Give it to me!" Kagome backed away from the cell, and unfortunately toward the desk. When the leader made a grab for her, she jumped away just in time, and made her way to the corner of the jailhouse for refuge. 

"Why is this so important to you?" Kagome was now on the verge of tears with fright and confusion. "You know what?" She held the paper up for all of them to see it, the blue ink shimmering in the dank room, but for her eyes only. "I'm not gonna let any of you have it!" And with that Kagome ripped the map into two pieces, then four, eight, and sixteen. She gathered the pieces in her hand and thrust them out the window. The other six people in the room stood gaping at her. 

"What the hell did you do?!" Came Inu-yasha's indignant response. 

"I ripped it up! Are you blind?" Kagome snapped. With her gazed fixed on Inu-yasha, the gang leader had begun creeping towards her, hoping to grab the paper out of her hand before she released the scraps of paper. Unfortunately for him, Inu-yasha spotted him. 

"The hells do you think you're doing?! It's my map, and you're not getting it!" Agitated at his helplessness, Inu-yasha did the only offensive thing he could, and threw his fork at him, which struck him right between the eyes. Too bad it wasn't the pointy end. 

"Bastard! That hurt!" The leader fired a shot at Inu-yasha, missing intentionally, rubbing his forehead where the fork had hit him. Throughout all this, Kagome had already released the scraps of paper (hoping they wouldn't hurt her when she found out), and was now making her way across the room by scooting behind the sheriff's desk. The act of sneaking was a hard thing to do in this room, and she was spotted also. "Don't move, girl. I'm not done with you. Now where's the map?" 

Kagome froze. "Out the window." She squeaked and timidly pointed in the general direction. 

"Why you...!" In an instant, the man had knocked over the desk and pinned Kagome to the cell bars by his grip on her neck. "You little bitch! You know how long it'll take to find all those pieces?" 

Kagome struggled against his grip. "There's.…only....sixteen." She managed gasp out. 

"So?! That's not the point! They'll have blown away by now!" The leader tightened his grip and hoisted her up, so her feet were no longer touching the ground. Her hands flew to her throat, trying to pry is grisly fingers off. An odd thought flashed through her head; it would be a shame if she got blood on this dress. 

All this while, an idea had forming itself in Inu-yasha's mind. Right before him was an opportunity he could use to his advantage. Use to escape. The first would be to distract Mr. Big and Ugly. Then persuade the girl to get the keys. It was flawless. Unless, of course, something went wrong. 

Setting his plan into motion, Inu-yasha snuck over to the window, and was successful, having had much practice in this area. He peered outside and many people running here and there. A fire was dying out in Kaede's hotel, which Inu-yasha was surprised he hadn't noticed earlier. Must be upwind. Luckily for Inu-yasha, a young man ran right past his window, close enough for Inu-yasha to reach out and grab him by the collar. 

The man yelped in surprise; it wasn't everyday you found yourself suddenly dangling in the air, and his hands flew to his chest in an attempt to release himself. "L-let me go!" 

Inu-yasha smirked. He might have enjoyed tormenting the boy on any other day, but today was his first chance for escape in a long while. "Hey kid. Shut up and listen. There's a bunch of armed idiots in here on the verge of killing some damsel in distress. Save her and you might get a reward or something." 

The young man's eye's widened at the statement. The word "reward" had grabbed his attention so well that the word "armed" was completely disregarded. Inu-yasha dropped him and he sped off down the street, yelling for help and ammunition as he went. 

Inu-yasha smirked at his own genius. Step one was completed flawlessly. Now for step two. 

He turned back to survey the scene inside the jailhouse. That girl was still pinned up against the bars, and the man holding her had no intention of letting go. Two of his lackeys were pillaging the sheriff's desk for any valuables, and the remaining two continued to watch the door. One of the men watching the door suddenly fired into the street and yelled back to his leader. 

"You gotta get over here! Some kids got some guns and are shootin' at us!" Just as he said this, three shots sounded, one hitting the door to the left of the man who just spoke, the second ricocheted off of a cell bar, and the third went through the hat of the leader. 

Slowly, deliberately, the leader loosened his grip on Kagome so that she sank to the floor, breathing hard, and raised his hand to his hat. He pulled it off his head and stared at the smoking bullet hole now in its side. His teeth clenched and his eyebrows drew together and he wrung the hat with both his hands. "I. Liked. That. Hat." He managed to grit out before whirling about and whipping his gun out to face the group assembled outside the door. 

Satisfied at the clanking of spurs as the leader walked away, Inu-yasha sat down on the ground next to Kagome, who was still trying to get her wits together, and leaned against the cell bars in a nonchalant way. 

"Listen, girl. I've got a deal for ya'. You get me outta here, and I'll get you outta here. Safe." Inu-yasha tried to sound like he didn't really need the girl's help, but the truth was that he did, and he was relieved when his voice didn't tremble. Everything was working out perfectly. 

"Why should I help you?" Kagome managed to gasp out. 

"Cause I'm the only one in here that hasn't tried to kill you. AND I'm the only one that will bother to help you out." 

Kagome thought for a minute. Her mind was still fuzzy from lack of oxygen, and there were blue lights dancing before her eyes. She pressed her palms against her closed eyes in an effort to make them disappear, but they only seemed to get clearer. Some shots rang out from the street, startling her. Looking up, she saw that the five men blocked the front door and all the windows were barred. Sighing, she resigned herself. 

"Fine. What do you want me to do?" Kagome stood and crossed her arms. 

"Keys. In the sheriff's desk." Inu-yasha answered eagerly. Almost too eagerly. He mentally chided himself. He couldn't sound desperate or this may not work. 

Kagome shuffled over to the overturned desk and quickly found the keys in a drawer that had been yanked out and tossed aside. The large metal ring was surprisingly cool in her hand. She kept her fingers clamped around the keys to keep them from jingling and she walked the few steps to the cell. 

"Which key?" Kagome let go of the keys and held up the key ring level to Inu-yasha's face so he could see them all. 

"The big iron one." Inu-yasha was nearly twitching with anticipation, and Kagome got the strange impression of a puppy wagging its tail. Kagome inserted the key into the lock and turned. 

The dull thud of the lock turning, as well as the creak of the large iron door swinging open, was heard by all during a convenient lull in the action. 

Attention finally drawn away from the gunfight, the leader turned his head to a sight he did not expect to see. The girl had released that…that…thing! "Why you…" He growled, reloading his pistol as he stalked towards the two in thudding steps. He shoved the last bullet in place, snapped the gun together and took off the safety in one smooth motion, then aimed right at Kagome's head. 

"Get down!" There were many things Inu-yasha was, but a liar wasn't one of them. The girl was going to get out of here safely. He had shoved her down so that when the man fired, Inu-yasha took the bullet in his right arm and Kagome was safely in the dirt. He winced slightly at the sting, but the pain was nothing compared to the sheer elation he felt for being free again. And when he stood again, he grinned at the leader in a way that let him know that Inu-yasha wasn't about to let anything keep him from his freedom. 

Fear suddenly came over the man, and he stumbled backwards. He quickly emptied the remaining five shots, but only hit air. He teetered off balance on his right leg, and when Inu-yasha punched him square in the face he went sprawling to the ground, unconscious. 

As much as Inu-yasha wanted beat up the rest of gang, his main priority was still escape. This in mind, he went to the window that Kagome had previously dropped the shredded map out of and rather effortlessly ripped the bars out of it. 

By this time Kagome had managed to pick herself up off the ground and assess the situation. Boy ripping metal bars out of window. Gunfight right outside the door. Unconscious man. Her dress was dirty. 

"Hey! You got my dress dirty!" Kagome mock-whispered indignantly once she had made her way to the boy. 

"I said safe, not clean. You want out or not?" But before she could reply he had already scooped her up in his arm, being mindful of his injury, and leapt out the window. 

~*^*~ 

When Kagome's senses had finally processed the recent events, she was far outside the small town of Jidai and sitting on some hay in a cargo car of the train she had come in on next to a complete stranger she had met in a jailhouse. Speaking of said stranger, he was currently leaning against the wall across from her and on a bale of hay. His left arm lay across his chest, his right hung limply to his side. He was looking down and away, and for a moment Kagome was under the impression that he was sleeping. An impression that was quickly changed when she noticed the fingers he was tapping against his arm and the twitching ears on his head. She wondered about those ears. Specifically why he had those ears. Anyways, the point was that this train was a long ways away from a hotel with her aunt where she was supposed to be. 

"Why am I here?" Cut straight to the important part. She already knew where she was. No reason to ask. 

The boy looked up at her and smirked. "Why wouldn't you be?" 

Kagome sputtered. "Because I'm supposed to stay with Kaede! Not galavanting off with some guy I met in jail!" She paused for a moment. "That came out REALLY wrong." 

"Well I couldn't just leave you." 

Kagome strongly resisted the urge to be touched by what sounded like a caring statement. "Why not?" 

"You're an acomplice now." 

Kagome froze. "W-wha...?" 

"Yeah." And he proceeded to rattle off crimes that he had commited and that Kagome would now be associated because she freed him. "Well, there's the obvious, jailbreak. Then there's vandalism, assault, whatever that thing is where you light buildings on fire, theft, and murder." 

Kagome visibly paled. "Oh...God..." _Wait. Murder?! Oh no..._ "W-who are you?!" 

The boy blinked. "You mean you didn't know?" 

"No of course I--Wait...you can't be! You're kidding me! You're the guy that killed my cousin? You're Inu-yasha?" 

~*^*~ 

Four hours later, things hadn't changed much, except for the fact that Kagome refused to speak kindly to Inu-yasha, they were now sitting even farther away from one another, and they were both starving. Kagome's anger flared when she heard a sigh from Inu-yasha and something that sounded like "I'm starving." 

"It was your bright idea to run off without any food or money! And why the hell did you take me?" The straw pricked the palms of her hands as she clenched them into fists. 

"Because, you're an acom--" 

"I know that!" Kagome shouted, standing up. 

Inu-yasha copied the action. "Then why'd ya ask?!" 

"Oh...you're such a jerk!" She hmph-ed and crossed her arms. 

"You're not exactly high society yourself." Inu-yasha crossed his arms as well (ignoring the pain for the sake of defiance) and couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at her. 

"I take it back! You're not a jerk, you're a stupid childish jerk!" 

"Bitch!" 

"Jerk!" 

"Bi--!" 

Kagome was about to yell again, but Inu-yasha cut himself short before standing still and straight. The only thing moving were those little white ears, and they moved every direction before settling on tuning in to a spot behind Inu-yasha. She was about to ask what was happening when he dashed across the car to yank her down to the floor. Kagome landed on her hip with a small 'oof' of pain, and she thought she saw Inu-yasha wince as well. 

"Shut up and don't move." Inu-yasha hissed as he worked on covering the two of them up with loose straw. He had just barely finished when Kagome heard a light tap of footsteps and the squeak of floorboards over the din of the train. They grew lounder when a door opened, the one connecting this car to the rest of the train, and drew steadily closer to where they lay. She worried that the person could see the two off them but her fears quickly vanished when the footsteps headed off to her right and away from their hiding place. 

When the door opened and closed for a second time Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and began to sit up, but Inu-yasha pushed her back down and clamped a hand over her mouth. 

"Not yet." 

Her eyes widened in surprise, but when Inu-yasha remained still and silent also, she looked at him with confusion. _Okay, so he's a jerk. But at least he's not a perverted jerk. That's good, right? Hey...is that blood on his sleeve?_ Kagome tried to think back and remember if that had been there where she first saw him, but when the footsteps resumed, this time accompanied with a sigh and a mutter, her thoughts ended abrubtly. The door opened and closed a third time and Inu-yasha finally let her up. 

"Stupid girl! They always try that! Haven't you ever tried to trick someone?" He glared at her and she glared back. After a good five minutes he spoke again. "So that means 'no'?" 

"Yes!" Kagome shouted. 

"Yes, you've tricked someone?" 

"No!" 

"No, you've tricked someone and refuse to admit it?" 

"Y- No!" 

"A-hah!" 

"You jerk!" 

At that moment, Inu-yasha's stomach growled, silencing his arguement. Kagome sighed. They gave one another withering glares, sat down on their respective sides of the car and let the unspoken agreement to cease fire until they were fed hang in the air. 

~*^*~ 

So there it is. I tried to make it longer than usual....but it was hard!!! It really really was! I don't know how long I can keep it up...I mean look how long it took me to get this second chapter written....although that was partially due to my computer being completely broken and without internet access....so yah. 

ill work really hard on the next chapter! but two seems to be my unlucky number.... 

Edited on 2-3-04. fixed some spellings and added a few sentences to keep things together. no major plot changes or anything. 


	3. Nothin' but a Hound Dog

Here it is.....the long awaited (at least I hope it was long awaited...) third chapter. I haven't a clue what took me so long to write this. It's like inspiration just died. Meh....anyways. enough talking. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: me no own-y

Ch. 3 - Nothin' but a Hound Dog

At some point, Kagome had fallen asleep on a bale of hay, and was only aware of this when she was rudely awakened by an antsy Inu-yasha.

"Come on! We gotta go!"

Kagome moaned and rolled over. Which landed her face-flat on the floor. "Who said you could be so awake this early?" She couldn't see exactly what he was doing, but it involved the rather large side door.

"It's not early, it's 1:00!"

Kagome jumped up. "In the afternoon? Why'd you let me sleep so late?" She proceeded to hastily brush off any dust and hay that stuck to her clothing and hair. "Wait," she paused in her ministrations. "It's still dark out."

"Yeah, yeah. 1:00. Weren't you listening?"

Kagome opened her mouth to argue, but Inu-yasha finally finished what he was doing and the side slid open with a loud bang, accompanied by the deafening sound of the air rushing past the train.

"Come on! We're leaving!"

Kagome stared at him incredulously. "You're kidding, right?" Her gaze flickered from Inu-yasha to the dusty night speeding by. "You want me to _jump_ out of here?"

"What else?" And before she could resist he had grabbed a hold of her wrist and leapt from the relative safety of the car. Kagome could have sworn time froze in that instant. Her hair billowing around her face, the tight pressure of Inu-yasha's hand around her wrist, the squeezing feeling of fear in the pit of her stomach; it all rolled into one thought that blared loudly across her conscious.

_I'm going to die!_

The sun was rising over a bustling Dodge City, already awake and active before the sun rose. Dodge City was just like every other western city, except for the very important fact that it actually prospered. It was situated right where the cow paths hit the train tracks and that provided big business for the residents. Despite being earthy dirt, Dodge City actually had a street and it was lined with general stores, saloons, hotels, and on the far end, holding pens for cattle when they arrived. The sweltering heat of summer gave the illusion of a lake surrounding the city, when in fact, the only water could be found in wells.

Shortly after sunrise, two figures stumbled into town, both glaring angrily at one another, but one was discretely rubbing a red mark on his face. As they drew closer, parts of their conversation could be heard.

"At least you could have warned me!"

"I did warn you! And you didn't have to slap me."

"I thought I was gonna die!"

"From falling out of a train? Please. That'll hardly kill anyone."

"Yes it would! Especially at the speed it was going. And also--!"

Kagome looked down to see a small child tugging on her now rather tattered dress. He looked to be around the age of eight with bright red hair and an almost too innocent pout. Her heart melted immediately.

"Excuse me Miss, but do you have any change?"

"Aww," she couldn't help cooing at him, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't have any."

"So beat it kid."

Instantly, that cute pout disappeared and a full-blown glare took its place, which left Kagome wondering how much of the kid's appearance was an act.

"Fine, but if you ever need money, don't come cryin' to me."

Inu-yasha was ready with a retort, but the kid ran off, so he just settled for growling and kicking some dust in the direction the kid went.

"Why do you always have to do that?" Kagome muttered, talking to the ground. She sighed and absently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then slowly walked off in the direction the kid went.

"Do what?" Kagome jumped nearly three feet into the air.

"You HEARD me?" Her reply was strained, seeing as she was still trying to return her breathing to normal.

"I hear a lot of things." Inu-yasha's usual cocky smile was plastered to his face, but his voice didn't hold the same confidence it usually did. Kagome gazed at him intently, trying to figure out if he was pulling something, but his expression changed too quickly and he stalked off. "Whatever. Let's eat."

Kagome followed, not missing the abrupt change in subject.

Twenty minutes later found them sitting in one of the less respectable saloons in the area. Needless to say, Kagome was not happy about it.

"Why are we here?"

"Important stuff. You wouldn't get it."

"And why wouldn't I?"

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Oh, I'm _sorry_. At least I don't drag helpless people with them on and _off_ of trains without even _warning_ them."

"Are you still going on about that?!"

"I could have died!"

"But you didn't!"

"Doesn't change the fact--!" Kagome stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at it and her gaze followed up the arm to the shoulder and finally to the face of the man beside her. She swallowed hard when she saw it was the rather _burly_ saloon owner.

"'Scuse me miss," he began in a rough voice, "I don't have no problem with the shoutin' but if you're gonna keep up such a racket I'm gonna ask that you at least order somethin'." Kagome sent a questioning look to Inu-yasha, but he just shrugged.

"Um, yes. Chicken sounds good. How about you Inu-yasha?" Once again, he just shrugged, attention focused elsewhere.

"Sorry, just got beef," the owner said.

'Not really surprised.' Kagome gave a small laugh and what she hoped was a passable smile. "Beef is good too. Well cooked please."

While all this had been going on, Inu-yasha had caught sight of the redhead from earlier. He was dashing between the bar counter and the piano in the corner and had been doing so for some time. Then he disappeared behind the piano and didn't come back out again. Curiosity was about to get the better of Inu-yasha but the smell of cooking quickly reminded him of why he was here. That, and Kagome decided to resume her interrogation.

"Why won't you tell me why we're here?"

"You don't need to know."

"Is it one of those 'I'm a tough guy doing tough guy business with other tough guys'?"

Inu-yasha gave her a look. "You're odd."

"This coming from someone with _dog ears_."

"Just shut up!"

Thankfully, the food came rather quickly and the pair was quite for the good fifteen minutes it took them to eat. The whole time Kagome was mentally scolding herself for ignoring the etiquette her mother had taught her, but she was simply too hungry. Now that she thought about it, the last time she had eaten was yesterday morning. Just as they were finishing up, some scuffling noises came from below them.

"Inu-yasha, do you hear that?"

"Someone's fightin' in the food cellar."

Kagome looked at the floor with curiosity, but couldn't discern anything more than what Inu-yasha just told her. The noises grew progressively louder and drifted over to the far corner.

"C'mon, we're leaving." Inu-yasha stood and motioned for Kagome to do the same.

"What, now?!"

"Yes now! Or else I leave you here."

"Fine." Kagome huffed.

Just as they stepped out of the saloon, Kagome caught a glimpse of the redhead shooting out from behind the piano and straight towards them, trailing various papers along the way.

"Inu-ya—!"

She didn't get a chance to finish. Just as the kid got to them, Inu-yasha grabbed him by the back of the shirt and Kagome by the waist and jumped onto the roof of the saloon. Just in time too, for the owner appeared a moment later, face red and soaked with sweat. He glanced around looking for the child, and when he was nowhere to be found, kicked at the ground in anger and stormed back into the saloon.

Kagome let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"What was that all—"

"Let me go!"

She spun around to see Inu-yasha holding the kid at arms length, and the redhead thrashing about in his grip.

"What are you doing? Let him go!"

"Just wait!" Inu-yasha leveled a glare at Kagome before turning back to the child. "Alright, kid. Give us some of that money and those two train tickets and I won't turn you in." He paused for a moment. "Or kill you."

The redhead stilled for a moment, thinking it over. "How much money?"

"Twenty."

"Five."

"Fifteen."

"Eight."

"Ten."

"Done." The kid dug into his pockets and pulled out two train tickets and a few bills. Inu-yasha took them then let the kid drop down. Upon hitting the ground, the redhead immediately began collecting all the papers that had fallen from him in his struggles. Inu-yasha confirmed he had gotten all of his money, then grabbed Kagome, who had been observing the activities in shock, around the waist again and hopped down.

"Pleasure doing business...," she muttered absently.

A half hour later they were sitting relatively comfortable aboard a train (in passenger cars this time) headed east. And now that they were no longer in immediate danger, in a crowded area (the kid had stolen nice tickets; they had gotten their own little cabin), and Kagome had collected her thoughts, the questioning had begun again.

"So, can you tell me what this important business was now that we're leaving?"

"No!"

"Just tell me!"

"No!"

A red blur passed by their door, disappeared, returned, and then dashed into their cabin without so much as a word. Kagome looked down at the small child who was currently clamped onto her arm like it was a lifeline.

"Hello?"

The boy looked up, revealing that he was the thief from the saloon.

"You again!" Inu-yasha shouted.

"Shhh! Just let me stay here and be quiet and I promise you won't regret it!" The boy pleaded.

"No way."

"Inu-yasha!"

"I'm not gonna let this kid just hang around!"

"Why not? He gave us our train tickets and money. The least we could do is help him out a little."

Inu-yasha 'hmphed' and turned away, so Kagome took this as a 'yes'. Glad that something finally went her way for once, she turned to the boy to make idle conversation in the most cutesy voice she could conjure at the moment.

"Hi there! My name is Kagome."

"I'm Shippo."

The hours passed uneventfully, and Shippo eventually fell asleep. Kagome and Inu-yasha were both quiet, neither seeing any point in talking. Inu-yasha was getting close to nodding off when Kagome sat up straight with a startled gasp.

"What? What is it?" Inu-yasha had immediately perked up.

"I figured it out!" Kagome replied with a smug grin.

"Figured what out?"

"Your important business." Inu-yasha just gave her a look. "At first I thought you just wanted food, but then I thought..." Inu-yasha flinched, and Kagome trailed off. "You're kidding." Inu-yasha pointedly avoided her stare. "You're not."

The cabin was quiet for a full minute.

"I cannot believe you made jump off a train for food!"

"Stop screeching!"

"I am not screeching!"

"What's goin' on?"

"Nothin' shrimp! Just go back to sleep!"

"I'm not a shrimp!"

"Inu-yasha, be nice!"

And thus, another hour passed.

By the time the sun had gone down things had quieted inside the small cabin. Shippo was sleeping again, but now he had stretched himself across the seat. Because she didn't have the heart to move him, Kagome had to share with Inu-yasha, who had nodded off as well. Kagome felt sleep weighing heavily on herself; it had been a long day. Her eyelids began to droop and her eyesight got fuzzy. She saw faint blue lights that didn't go away when she rubbed her eyes. Deciding it was due to exhaustion, Kagome gave in and fell into a much-needed sleep.

When Kagome awoke, the sun was high in the sky and the train had stopped. She took a moment to collect herself and realized her head was resting on Inu-yasha's shoulder. She sat up quickly and prepared to verbally defend herself, but it seemed as though Inu-yasha was still sleeping. Moving carefully, she stepped around him to peer out the window. She couldn't see the station sign from where she was, but some of the businesses across the street had 'Wichita' in the name.

She was tired of being cooped up in the small cabin, so Kagome decided to chance a little exploration trip. Going outside was a little risky. As much as she wanted to get back to her family and relative safety, Inu-yasha was holding all the money, and, a small part of her had to admit, this adventure was an interesting change of pace.

It wasn't an elegant train by any stretch of the imagination, but still provided enough interest to satisfy Kagome's curiosity. It was when she was walking through a dining car that a well-dressed gentleman with dark hair got up from his seat and blocked her way. He looked at Kagome and gave her a friendly smile that Kagome returned. He turned to go, but stopped and turned back to her.

"Excuse me, miss, but I was wondering if you could do me a small favor. If it's not too much to ask, of course."

"Oh, no! It's no problem at all!"

Without further explanation, he took her hand and kneeled in front of her. Kagome blushed. 'It's almost like a proposal!' She giggled inwardly.

"Would you do me the honor—"

Back in the cabin, Inu-yasha and Shippo were awakened by a distant shriek.

There you have it. A little bit shorter than the first two, but at least it's here, right? Right? Not a lot of plot here, mostly just gathering the characters, but I haven't forsaken the plot. There's a bit of it lurking in there. X3 try and find it! Mwahahha. Inu-yasha's so disagreeable. shakes head stop arguing Inu!!!


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